Interesting. The Wings are in town and I’m not at the Verizon Center. That should tell you that things are happening quickly here in DC. Departures are being accelerated. Oceans beckon and the 8 seed is a teasing, tantalizing one point away. Two points tonite means a possible 6 or 7.

By my calculation, I have two posts left and about forty hours before going haze grey and underfriggingway brother.

There will be trades, mostly to change the culture of the team, which means veteran players beware…your time in Edmonton may soon be over.

This isn’t another run at the endless speculation that has followed with the Oilers continued disappointment.

There will be changes.

Trade is the most “friendly” way, but it is possible Edmonton will take a far more aggressive approach and bury players in the minors, or wait until the end of the season and buy out contracts, if necessary.

That’s a very harsh way to change the culture, but the team you see today will look much different by the end of the summer.

For years now, Henrik and twin brother Daniel have been very good players and by far the most productive Canucks, but until this season, they have yet to be recognized as superstar players league-wide. This season however, there is no disputing the fact that the Sedins are all that and more, and Henrik in particular, is well on his way to having a Hart Trophy worthy season.

It’s not unusual for much of the media attention to focus on the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Crosby (both are worthy recipients). Henrik Sedin, in this his ninth NHL season often flies under the radar. Maybe it’s the fact that he plays on the West Coast, or maybe it’s his quiet demeanour, but rarely does he get the respect that his play on the ice deserves.

There is a certain chic to suggesting that little can be done at the trade deadline to help a team win the Stanley Cup, that successful franchises retain their draft picks – even acquire more – and that unsuccessful teams trade picks away in a misguided managerial stupor.

But we’ll take cold, hard stats over chic any day.

How else to explain that the NHL’s most successful franchise over the past 11 seasons, the Detroit Red Wings, has traded away more draft picks (13) in deadline deals than any other team.

OK, OK, I know that all teams have bad nights. I can accept that. But I can’t accept lethargic play. Given their difficult position in the Western Conference standings, the Blues can’t afford to snooze in any game. Not even after winning four in a row. They must play desperation hockey.

We’ll see what kind of mood they’re in when they compete in Montreal on Wednesday and Ottawa on Thursday. This is a good first test for Coach Payne. We’ll see what he can do to crank the boys up after they went to sleep on him for the first time since he took over.

The Blues’ kids have to do a lot better ... if they can: At some point, shouldn’t we begin to see sustained, elevated play from the Blues’ highly-touted youngsters? Or when do we start to conclude that perhaps they are not as good as promised?

Michael Peca announced his retirement today from the National Hockey League after 13 NHL seasons….

“I truly have enjoyed my entire career as an NHL player,” said Peca. “Playing the game at the highest level, with and against the top hockey players in the world, has been a pleasure. Throughout my 13-season career I was fortunate to play on some exceptional hockey teams, particularly the 2002 Canadian Olympian team and the Sabres and Oilers teams that reached the Cup finals. Really I am grateful for the lasting friendships and memories that the game of hockey has given me, and I would like to thank my family, teammates, and the fans for all their support along the way.”

The performance left coach Brent Sutter stuck for a description of what had transpired. He’s used the words casual, failure to engage and disappointing among others following certain losses this season but he was tongue-tied after this one.

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